This invention relates generally to point-of-sale computer systems of the type used in retail stores to record sales transactions. More particularly, the invention relates to point-of-sale systems capable of generating discount coupons and similar purchase incentives. Discount coupons have long been used in the packaged goods industry to promote the sale of specific items to consumers. Many discount coupons are distributed by mail, or as inserts (known as free standing inserts) in newspapers and magazines. This method of distribution has the major drawback that it is not "targeted" to consumers most likely to use the discount coupons. Consequently, mass distribution of discount coupons results in a very low rate of redemption of the coupons. Most consumers simply ignore them or, if they use coupons at all, discard them because of lack of interest in the specifically promoted products.
A revolutionary change in techniques of discount coupon distribution began with the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,212 issued to Thomas L. Mindrum et al., entitled "Method and Apparatus for Dispensing Discount Coupons." In this system, coupons were generated and distributed in the retail store, based on the products purchased by the consumers. If a consumer purchased a "triggering" product that had been previously selected as part of a promotion, the consumer would receive a discount coupon upon paying for purchased items at a checkout stand. The coupon handed to the consumer typically provides for a discount on a competitive or complementary product when the customer returned to the store on a subsequent visit. Thus, in the system described in the Mindrum et al. patent, discount coupons generated in the store were distributed only to consumers who had been "targeted" because of their purchase of competitive or related products. U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,672 issued to George W. Off et al., having the same title, disclosed additional features of the system described in the Mindrum et al. patent.
Although the system described in the Mindrum et al. and Off et al. patents constituted a significant improvement in techniques for the generation and distribution of discount coupons, there were nevertheless a number of aspects of coupon distribution that these two prior patents did not address. Basically, the prior system uses only one condition for generation of a coupon: whether the consumer had presented a specific triggering item or items for purchase. The redemption rate for coupons distributed with use of the Mindrum et al. system has been much higher than redemption rates for conventionally distributed coupons. Many coupons still go unredeemed, however, for a variety of reasons. The consumer may be loyal to the brand of product that triggered the coupon; or the triggering product brand may be much lower in price than the discounted one; or the consumer may prefer the triggering brand over the discounted brand for some other reason unrelated to price or loyalty. A desirable goal in such systems is to maximize the redemption rate by more precisely "targeting" the consumers that receive coupons. The present invention accomplishes this goal.